Hyundai Motor Group Becomes World’s No. 2 in Operating Profit, Overcoming US Tariffs

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According to Financial News, Hyundai Motor Group, which ranks third globally in vehicle sales, last year surpassed Germany’s Volkswagen Group in operating profit for the first time.
Despite the impact of US auto tariffs, both Japan’s Toyota Group and Hyundai Motor Group managed to defend their profitability by increasing local production and expanding hybrid lineups. Analysts say the two groups have firmly secured their positions as the top two most profitable automakers.
Industry data on the 11th showed that Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation, and Genesis) sold 7.27 million vehicles worldwide last year, maintaining third place in global sales behind Toyota Group with 11.32 million units and Volkswagen Group with 8.98 million units. General Motors (GM) followed with 6.18 million units, and Stellantis with 5.48 million.
However, in terms of profitability, Hyundai Motor Group overtook Volkswagen Group to claim the No. 2 spot.
Toyota Group, the global No. 1 by sales, posted revenue of 50.4508 trillion yen (about 471.2 trillion won) and operating profit of 4.3128 trillion yen (about 40.2 trillion won) last year, the highest operating profit among global automakers. The figures combine Toyota’s results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 and the first through third quarters of fiscal 2025.
Over the same period, Hyundai Motor Group recorded consolidated revenue of 300.3954 trillion won and operating profit of 20.5460 trillion won.
This exceeded Volkswagen Group’s operating profit of 8.9 billion euros (15.3 trillion won), marking the first time on an annual basis that Hyundai Motor Group’s operating profit has surpassed that of Volkswagen Group.
GM, which ranked fourth in sales last year, posted operating profit of 12.7 billion dollars (18.7 trillion won, approximately), while Stellantis recorded an operating loss of 840 million euros (about 1.4 trillion won).
Hyundai Motor Group also remained near the top in operating margin, another key indicator of profitability.
Toyota Group posted an operating margin of 8.6%, followed by Hyundai Motor Group with a combined margin of 6.8%. This is more than double Volkswagen Group’s 2.8% operating margin and well above those of other competitors.
As Hyundai Motor Group achieved higher operating profit than Volkswagen Group despite selling fewer vehicles, many in the industry say the group’s qualitative growth has become increasingly evident.
An industry official commented, "Compared with most automakers, whose profitability was hit hard by the fallout from US tariffs, Hyundai Motor Group held up relatively well." The official added, "This year, uncertainties such as the situation in the Middle East remain and competition is intensifying, but given that the group has proven its competitiveness, there is a strong likelihood it will maintain its profitability again this year."
hjkim01@fnnews.com Kim Hak-jae Reporter